A conventional roll cover assembly (often referred to as a tonneau) is retained in place by a stiff lateral spring assembly. Such springs can require significant effort to be applied in order to release the tonneau from the vehicle when not in use. The lateral (cross-vehicle) orientation of the springs mean the user has to overcome the spring force themselves, often at arm's length and with no mechanical assistance being provided by the hardware. In addition to the physical effort required to compress the springs, because of the installed location of the tonneau within the vehicle, the task often requires the user to stretch awkwardly or clamber into the vehicle.
The present disclosure seeks to address these issues.